Mercedes calls on Kate Upton to tease CLA in video

CaptionMercedes-Benz CLA250

David Undercoffler / Los Angeles Times

The all-new 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 will be the first front-wheel-drive car sold by Mercedes in the U.S. in decades. It has a turbocharged 2.0-liter four cylinder engine that makes 208 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque.

The all-new 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 will be the first front-wheel-drive car sold by Mercedes in the U.S. in decades. It has a turbocharged 2.0-liter four cylinder engine that makes 208 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. (David Undercoffler / Los Angeles Times)

The all-new 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 will be the first front-wheel-drive car sold by Mercedes in the U.S. in decades. It has a turbocharged 2.0-liter four cylinder engine that makes 208 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque.

The all-new 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 will be the first front-wheel-drive car sold by Mercedes in the U.S. in decades. It has a turbocharged 2.0-liter four cylinder engine that makes 208 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. (David Undercoffler / Los Angeles Times)

The all-new 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 will be the first front-wheel-drive car sold by Mercedes in the U.S. in decades. It has a turbocharged 2.0-liter four cylinder engine that makes 208 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque.

The all-new 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 will be the first front-wheel-drive car sold by Mercedes in the U.S. in decades. It has a turbocharged 2.0-liter four cylinder engine that makes 208 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. (David Undercoffler / Los Angeles Times)

The all-new 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 will be the first front-wheel-drive car sold by Mercedes in the U.S. in decades. It has a turbocharged 2.0-liter four cylinder engine that makes 208 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque.

The all-new 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 will be the first front-wheel-drive car sold by Mercedes in the U.S. in decades. It has a turbocharged 2.0-liter four cylinder engine that makes 208 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. (Mercedes-Benz)

The all-new 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 will be the first front-wheel-drive car sold by Mercedes in the U.S. in decades. It has a turbocharged 2.0-liter four cylinder engine that makes 208 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque.

The all-new 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 will be the first front-wheel-drive car sold by Mercedes in the U.S. in decades. It has a turbocharged 2.0-liter four cylinder engine that makes 208 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. (Mercedes-Benz)

There are a few closeups of the car's front end and interior, yet they're nothing that wasn't shown when the car was recently revealed at the Detroit Auto Show.

The real focus is clearly Upton, who spends much of the ad involved in gratuitous hair-tousling while flirting with the camera and the young gentlemen distractedly soaping her Benz.

Upton's appearance foretells of the actual Super Bowl ad, which will feature her and singer Usher when it debuts during the Super Bowl on Feb. 3. The goal is to introduce the CLA -- Mercedes' first front-wheel-drive car for the U.S. market, likely starting around $30,000 -- to a younger audience than is traditionally drawn to the larger C-Class.

The CLA250 will be powered by a 2.0-liter, turbocharged, direct-injected four-cylinder engine making 208 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. It will route power to the front wheels via a seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission with shift paddles.

The model will go on sale in September 2013. In spring 2014, Mercedes will offer the CLA250 4MATIC, an all-wheel-drive version with the same engine and transmission.